A.R.T/Lucas Agitator Junior

[GoMachV]

Found most of an Agitator Junior on eBay, seller didn't know what it was. I feel it was more than fair, so....let's build it

This is the goal...


And this is how it arrived...


Missing the front end but otherwise seems complete.
Here are the bag breakdowns....

[GoMachV]

A few sub assemblies

[GoMachV]

Thanks to Jason i now have a front end

Pretty cool way they have the caster set and adjusted

[Phin]

Hmm. Your shock kit came with two o-rings? Do they both fit in the shock body...cause I thought the shock was a Duratrax?

[GoMachV]

Yup- I actually assembled it to see how it would go- plastics had tons of flashing. The shaft looks kyosho and the body as well, the shock clamp has a weird tab on it tho, and the screw isn't kyosho. It looks like a kyosho but not quality of one. Has a larger diaphram than the duratrax too. The body was deep enough for an oring>thick spacer>oring>thin spacer>clip. I am thinking these may have been a knock off gold shock? Like these

[Phin]

Very interesting! Maybe Coel can chime in on how many o-rings were in his Agitator but another member said there was only one o-ring in the shocks in his Agitator.

In the old ads for the Agitator the shocks on the car weren't ano'd black but they were black and white ads so there's no telling if the shocks were the color of gold shocks, duratrax shocks, or something else. "The Best Quality" was Great Vigor's slogan wasn't it....could they be Beagle shocks

The Agitator borrowed parts from Delta, Associated, and Litesink so I really don't see them having their own shocks machined.

[GoMachV]

Oh good thought on the beagle shocks, that would make sense. The quality of the piece looks about right- for example the flashing and type of plastic. Its not glossy and smooth like a kyosho/duratrax

[Coelacanth]

Nice, I'll be following this build with interest!

Very interesting! Maybe Coel can chime in on how many o-rings were in his Agitator but another member said there was only one o-ring in the shocks in his Agitator.

I have my 3 shocks disassembled, I'll get back to you on that, and will edit this post once I've confirmed the number of O-rings.

I de-anodized the shock bodies and they have that high polish that the Duratrax shocks had; Kyosho Golds have more of a satiny semi-gloss finish under the ano.

[Phin]

Did some googling..."The Best Quality" was actually Blue Bird's catch phrase and the shocks look more like they could've come off a Growler instead of a Beagle. Beagle shocks look more like bottom load Kyosho or Losi shocks.

[fredswain]

I've got a bag full of those shocks. Admittedly a small bag but several nevertheless. I've got a set new in pack like that too. I have no idea what they are from.

[GoMachV]

Update- thanks to Scr8p for the front end kit! Got her bolted up and ready to locate some screws for the center brace now.

Btw, I have the manual hosted now (also thanks to Scr8p!)
Let me know if this link works
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4hnd1wJQLh5ZFc0Z25Mdk5vN3M/edit?usp=docslist_api

[EvolutionRevolution]

How does that caster adjustment work? Different parts that need to be swapped, or are the half-circles actually rotated?

[GoMachV]

Yea, the plastic saddles rotate to the desired caster.

[Lonestar]

Great build thread thanks!

[GoMachV]

Ok the top deck required a little "reading between the lines". I didn't have the standoffs, well...I had ONE. From that, I found some spacers I had anodized black a while back were the same! Sweet! That took car of the front. For the rear, it's unlike the standard Agitator. The front plate is not ball supported so it sits flat to the chassis. I spaced it up with black nylon washers to make the T plate sit flush, then found more spacers to make up the difference and match the front. The shock was the other unknown- I could only go by the leftover parts. In the end, I think it's in the right spot....until I see a pic of a real JR anyway

Lastly, I installed a new S132h and a period receiver. The rod ends are Rocket City with DuBro turnbuckles. I'll round up a motor and esc next